The Flower Halo
by Victory's Raconteur
Summary: Four-year-olds Alvin and Brittany share a moment of friendship in a beautiful, secret place called the Flower Halo.


_**Based off of a flashback from the most bizarre AatC FF ever written…**_

_**.**_

_**The Hearts of Avalon:  
The Flower Halo**_

_**Forest near the Seville household**_

_**Eleven years before the Avalon event…**_

_**.**_

"I never want to grow up, Alvin," four-year-old Brittany Miller said to Alvin Seville as the two rolled playfully across the lush, soft grass, "Ever!"

"Neither do I!" he replied as they tumbled, his little red cap fluttering from his head, _"Grown-ups have to work all the time, when we get to play like this!"_

She laughed as the chipmunk wrestled with her soft, pink-clad form, each little movement sending up puffs of white dandelion seeds into the warm spring air.

"It's so beautiful, here, Alvin," she said, playfully shoving him off of her, "I never wanna leave!"

"I know," Alvin replied as he rolled away, "It's amazing, isn't it?"

The two little ones sighed softly, breathing in the sweet aroma of nearby flowers, enjoying the glorious warmth in the air.

They looked around, little sets of brown and ice-blue eyes scanning the beautiful ring of flowers around them. It was a rainbow of pure beauty, as the sun glinted off each and every little blossom.

Beyond this ring was a thick, high wall of trees, for this rather mysterious clearing was located deep in the woods, a good run away from the Seville household.

This was a place where the two were not rivals. Where they never fought, only played as the best of friends.

This was the Flower Halo.

"Alvin?" the chipette asked her red-clad counterpart, "Why do we have to grow up?"

"I don't know," he replied, his deep brown eyes scanning the beauty around him, "It doesn't make sense. If everyone's always telling us it's a bad world out there, then why leave? Why can't we just stay here?"

Alvin's little ear twitched, and he quickly waved away the little honeybee that had decided to tease him.

"Yeah," Brittany whispered. She suddenly got to her feet, ears twitching at the sound of the bugs and birds singing around her, and trudged through the tall, green grass to the edge of the little clearing.

Grasshoppers jumped and buzzed around the pink-clad chipette as she leaned over to pick a single, tiny white flower from the mass of colorful blossoms that outlined the clearing.

Alvin, even at his young age, couldn't help but admire how the sunlight seemed to slide off Brittany's golden-brown fur like glass.

After a moment, she turned, walked back over to Alvin, and sat down on the grass beside him. She stared so intently at that one, single little flower, her ice-blue eyes making the tiniest of movements as she studied every little feature on the blossom.

"Brittany?" the red-clad chipmunk asked quietly, "You okay?"

"Yeah…" she said softly. Finally, she moved her attention off the delicate white flower to him, staring deep into his dark brown eyes. "Alvin?"

"Yeah?"

"Your mother? She was right. There _are_ angels here, you know?"

For a moment, Alvin simply sat there, thinking about what the chipette had just said. He hadn't heard that phrase…ever since those oh-so-fuzzy memories of his mother when she had brought him and his younger brothers here.

It had been so long ago, though…

Alvin reached down and picked up his tiny, fallen hat, brushing off the little yellow 'A' before placing it back on his head.

The young red-clad chipmunk looked back over at his counterpart, whose ice-blue eyes were once again studying the tiny flower.

"Yeah…" Alvin said softly, "There _is_ an angel here…"

Brittany took a moment to respond, lost in thought. But when she looked up, she saw that Alvin wasn't looking at the clearing, or the tall, secure wall of trees, or even the beautiful rainbow of colorful flowers that formed the Flower Halo.

His soft brown eyes were looking right into her own.

Brittany smiled, tilting her head slightly as she realized the meaning of her red-clad counterpart's words.

"Aw," the chipette said softly, "Alvin…that's so sweet…"

She leaned forward, taking little Alvin by surprise as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.

Smiling, the chipmunk returned the gesture, hugging his arms around his counterpart's soft, pink-clad form. He couldn't help but smile at his own embarrassment. He had never hugged a girl before.

Finally, the two pulled back, staring into each other's eyes with an odd feeling in their hearts. Alvin stood, brushing off the large, yellow 'A' on his red shirt, which was so big on him that it touched his feet.

Showing a courtesy that most certainly wasn't "Alvin", the chipmunk then reached down to help his pink-clad counterpart to her feet.

The two smiled again, and began to make their way back to the edge of the clearing.

Suddenly, Brittany realized she still held the little white flower.

"Oh!" she said, "Hang on, I'll be right back."

Alvin turned and watched as the chipette rushed back to the very center of the clearing, stirring up swarms of tiny bugs and grasshoppers that buzzed around her form.

Brittany knelt down at the center of the Flower Halo clearing, and used one hand to scoop up the warm dirt and form a tiny hole. She placed the little white blossom in the pit, and gently packed the soil back in around it.

Alvin couldn't help but roll his eyes as Brittany finally stood and ran back to him, the little white flower now set firmly in the ground.

'_Girls,' _he thought humorously, as he and his pink-clad counterpart started back home.

"You know, Alvin," Brittany said slyly, "We're only playmates as long as we're in the Halo…"

"Yeah," Alvin replied, a slight grin touching his lips, "I know…"

The two youngsters waded through the outer edge of the beautiful ring of flowers, the blossoms' intoxicating aroma wafting through their little pink noses.

They suddenly felt cool as the shade of the trees covered them; sure enough, as soon as their feet left the Halo and touched the hard forest floor again, it was on.

"Race ya!" Brittany squealed, taking off through the trees at full speed.

"Hey!" Alvin cried as he bolted after her, "Cheater!"

The two young rivals laughed as they chased each other through the forest, back towards the Seville household. The sun filtered through the canopy above and seemed to flash over Alvin and Brittany's little forms as they ran, leaves crunching under their feet.

Even a blind man could have been able to tell that they were made for each other. They hated each other, and that's why they _liked _each other: in their eyes, the counterpart seemed a fun and challenging opponent.

It was a unity that few shared, that few were lucky to have.

And Alvin and Brittany were lucky enough to have it from the age of four.

Not all stories have happy endings, and I cannot assure you that the story of these two little rivals will not end sadly, but I can assure you of one thing: the ending matters not if the journey is not worth it.

And now I invite you to follow these two on the journey of their lives.

* * *

_**- "The Hearts of Avalon"**_


End file.
